Lost Art is an interactive street art project. I find objects in the street, paint street scenes onto them, and then leave them out to be found on the streets where they were painted. It's an exercise in recycling, in letting go, and in reaching out. I'm curious to know whether the paintings will be found, or if they will remain discarded the way their canvases were before I painted them. So if you find one of the pieces, please let me know in the comments!

November 13, 2014

Lost Art #17: Gameat Al Dewal Al Arabeya

Hello again everyone! I've been back out on the streets of Cairo!

This one was interesting to paint. I was out on Gameat Al Dewal at rush hour, toward the end of the day. Gameat Al Dewal is always a very busy street, but at that time it's even more so. I had people crowding around me almost immediately, and at one point there were so many kids pushing in and asking questions that I had to stop working on the painting. So it came out a little bit loose. But then I decided that I kinda liked it that way. So rather than go back and work on it more, I thought it would be more fun to let it reflect the rushed and busy atmosphere of the place where I painted it. Even if it was a little bit difficult to work with so many people around, it's also really exhilarating to leave a painting in a place where people are so excited and curious about it. I hope I get the chance to hear from the person who found it! Now I am going to take a few days off from this project to focus on preparing for our big residency show at Artellewa on the 18th. If you're in Cairo, please feel free to message me for more details about that. And stay tuned for more Lost Art the following week!

This painting, oil on found wood, roughly 34 cm x 37 cm, was left on Gameat Al Dewal Al Arabeya, in Cairo, on November 13th, 2014 at 8:30 AM.